Big pharma pushing bills in Mississippi Legislature

7:18 PM,
Feb. 12, 2013

Written by

Bill Crawford

High drug costs pose challenges to all health insurance plans, from individual to group to Medicaid to Medicare.

One of the most effective ways to cut drug costs has been to allow doctors and pharmacists to substitute lower-cost generic drugs for higher price brand-name drugs. For example, Medicare Part D co-pays are far lower for generic drugs than for brand-name drugs. Some insurance plans won't even pay for brand-name drugs because lower cost options are available.

This trend works against big pharmaceutical companies' ability to maximize profits while supporting competitiveness ...